Lawrenceville Daily Record

Bringing Back an Old Saying



Last year, our congregation received an amazing gift to pay for new carpet in our sanctuary. The current carpet has been there since 1963 and is literally coming apart at the seams. We went through the process of choosing new carpet and scheduled installation and everything looked good. But then, you know, COVID. Twice we had to reschedule because the installer was ill with COVID-19. We hope the third time is a charm.

Life is full of derailed plans, unexpected circumstances, and all kinds of things that mess with our plans and goals. There are countless examples. Think of a young man who plans to go off to college, but his father dies and now mom needs him to stay home and help run the farm. A happy couple has been married for 26 and hopes for more decades together, but then cancer strikes and one is lost. My friend has a daughter in college who wants to be a marine biologist. One of her professors has taken a liking to her due to her work ethic and passion for the field. He is helping her build a strong academic resume, including at least one published article, so that she can get into the graduate school of her choice. Many things must fall into place for her to one day become a marine biologist.

We make plans all the time. The Apostle James recognizes this in the letter that bears his name in the Bible. He writes in chapter 4:13-14, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.” James speaks against those who make plans and think that what they envision will indeed happen, no matter what. He reminds his readers that their lives are like a mist that dissipates and is gone. Life can be shorter than expected, ending plans altogether. Then James tells us what we ought to say when we share our plans: “’If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (verse 15). This is a way of keeping in mind the truth that God causes somethings to happen, allows others, is working out his own plans in the world and that sometimes our plans conflict with his. If he does not permit us to do something, then there is nothing we can do about it. The great comfort bound with this truth is that God is wise, loving and powerful, so we can trust how he works in the world.

I remember many people of a previous generation who knew this truth and lived by it. You might make plans with them, or they might share what they are working on. And somewhere in the conversation you would hear, “Lord willing, that’s what we will do.” It is time to bring that saying back into our conversations and planning. We do not control the future. The realistic person knows this and yet still plans and works, but does so humbly, knowing that God is sovereign and can stop, start, or redirect anything that he wishes to. And God does not have to consult us first. So, Lord willing, let’s make plans and work, but prayerfully submit everything to God in prayer. Even carpet installation.

Russ Veldman is pastor of the Lawrenceville Free Methodist Church. He has been a resident of Lawrenceville since 2012.

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